This website is intended to give a brief introduction to the Bible by letting you, the reader, dive into a small portion of it.
By reading this, you will learn about the Christian faith by going directly to the source.
The Bible can be overwhelming for new readers because of the amount of content and because the most recent portions were written nearly two thousand years ago, making the language and historical context sometimes difficult to understand. It is a lot to take in, but I urge you not to give up, because it is well worth the effort. That's why I've placed only two books here to get started-- The Gospel According to John and The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians.
The word "Gospel" means simply "Good News." John was an apostle of Christ. ("Apostle" means "set apart." John was set apart to do the work of God.) He writes so that others may believe. The book of John will tell us about who Christ is and what he came to do.
The word "Epistle" means "Letter." Paul was an apostle that was writing to the Christians at Ephesus (the Ephesians) to give them guidance. Paul tells us about our relationship with God and how we are to act in accordance with that relationship.
All of the Bible is breathed out by God and is given to us for our benefit, and ultimately for His glory. Choosing only two books here is not to say that only these books are important-- These are here to help you to get started.
The message of the Christian faith is this-- God created all things that were created, including us, according to His purpose. Human beings are a special creation, created in God's image. We sinned against Him and He will no longer accept us in His presence because of our sin, because we have been alienated from Him. Every sin deserves God's wrath and curse. But, by His mercy, He took punishment for the sins of those who believe. He did this in the form of His Son, and by doing so reconciling us to Him.
You will read more of this in the following pages. My words are nothing when compared to the words of the Bible itself, though I have added brief introductions to the two books and an afterword to help you understand and give links for further reading.
I share this information with you so that you may believe in Christ-- To die to sin so that you may live in Christ. The afterword (which you can find quickly in the site index) will give information on other Christian resources that will help you should you feel convicted to continue.
Most translations separate the Bible into different verses. I have removed the verse numbers here to make introductory reading a little easier, but they are useful for reference later. Verses are what are referred to with references like "Romans 5:8", which means the eighth verse of the fifth chapter of Paul's Epistle to the Romans.
Now click the "Next" button to read my introduction to John, followed by the text written by the Apostle.